The advance voting in the Finnish municipal elections was on the sixth day on Monday, and about 10.4 per cent of the country’s 4.4 million eligible voters have already cast their ballots.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the most enthusiastic early voters were found in Lestijärvi, Central Ostrobothnia, starting at 11 am on Monday, where the turnout has so far been almost 26 per cent.
The Ministry has set up real-time monitoring voter turnout, which also provides municipality-specific details. Just before noon on Monday, 463,985 votes had been cast across the country.
Most Finns can vote in municipal elections regardless of nationality. Please check if you are eligible to vote at canivote. We have compiled a a really simple guide Finnish local elections, and you can also check our election compass in English here.
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Due to coronavirus problems, the ministry postponed municipal elections from April 18 to June 13. It also extended the period of early voting from one week to two, starting on 26 May and ending on 8 June.
Voting was relatively lively at the Oulunkylä Library in Helsinki on Sunday, according to a local election official Eila Ratasvuori.
"On Saturday we had almost 200 voters, and it was not until the first hour of Sunday that there were 40," he explained, saying that as many as 500 voters a day appeared during the week.
"The Oulunkylä library has been very lively. Of course, not everyone comes at once, but sometimes it’s a little congested," Ratasvuori said there have been all sorts of voters who have voted early, including families with children, middle-aged and elderly – but also recently 18-year-old first voters.
Source: The Nordic Page